DEFENSE Minister Willie O'Dea went ahead this week with a three-day visit to Chad despite rising tension after Irish troops came under fire last weekend in fighting between government troops and rebel forces.Irish Defense Forces chiefs said they were unsure whether the Irish were deliberately targeted or whether the shots fired at them were stray bullets in the clash between the rival forces near the town of Goz Beida.The Irish had to fire warning shots from heavy machine guns during the five-hour battle on Saturday. It was the first time in a decade that Irish soldiers on a UN-mandated mission had to shoot back.No Irish soldiers were injured but one of their MOWAG Piranha armored personnel carriers was struck by shrapnel.According to the only Irish journalist on the scene, Richard Waghorne of the Irish Daily Mail, the fighting was heavy with rebel rockets falling on the town like rain. He said the rebels, packed into more than 100 trucks, eventually pushed the government troops out of the town and went on next day to capture another town 75 miles away on the road to the capital, N'Djamena.O'Dea flew into the capital on Monday with Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Dermot Earley. They later flew up country to Camp Ciara, headquarters of the 400 Irish soldiers whose task as members of the EU-led Eufor force is to protect thousands of refugees in Chad's eastern borderlands.The refugees are mainly from neighboring war-torn and famine-stricken Darfur, ownership of which is disputed by Chad and Sudan.While in the capital, O'Dea had talks with Chad government leaders, including the defense minister."They don't appear to be concerned and said the security situation was under control. But it's something I didn't discuss at any great length, quite frankly, because it's really not any of my business except in so far as it impinges on the safety of our troops," he said."We have a neutral role here, which is to protect the camps and make sure that NGOs (mainly non-government aid organizations) get to the camps to do what they have to do. That's our role and quarrels between different factions are the Chadian government's own problem."Asked about the incident in which the Irish came under fire O'Dea said, "Everyone recognizes that this was unfortunate and regrettable but the Irish troops reacted in a very professional way."The rebels are intent on overthrowing Chad President Idriss Deby. After initial suspicion when the Irish arrived last month, there are now signs that they have been accepted as neutrals.Representatives of the Chadian rebel alliance told The Irish Times that the Irish are no longer considered a hostile force.Rebel spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah said, "We congratulate Eufor soldiers for their courageous attitude and neutrality."